Feed and litter carrier.



N0 862,460. PATENT-ED'AUG..6; 190K H. L. FERRIS.

'FBED'. AND LITTER CARRIER, AP'PLIOAIION FILED E30; 1997.

4 SHEETS-BHEET 2.

No. 862,460. PATENTED AUG. 6, 1907. H. L. PER-BIS; FEED AND LITTERCARRIER.

APPLIOATION FILED JAN. 30, 1907.

' 4 sums-sum 3 6 2illlllllllmlllillllllllllllllfllllllifi'm i I @w""" 4ik j. 15 m; wwww @W HENRY L; reams, F HARVARD, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOlt TOHUNT, HELM, FERRIS .5; COMPANY,

N T nsTA r ns;P A ENT OFFIGE.

OF HARVARD, ILLiNOis, A CORPORATION or ILLINOIS.

rnnp AND LITTER CARRIER.

'ze'o. 862,460.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented. Aug.6,190'7.

Application filed January 30, 1907. Serialllo. 354,943.

To all iuhom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, HENRY L. FERRIS, a citizen or the United States,residing at Harvard, in the county of McHenry and State of-Illinois,have invented a new Band useful Feed andLitter Carrier, of which thefollowdescribed and explained in the specification and shown in theaccompanying drawing, in which Figure l is a. side elevation of myimproved device, showing the same in place upon a track; Fig. 2 is an.end view ofthe device removed from the track; Fig.

2 is a section onthe line 2 of Fig. 2; Fig. 3 is a detailed verticaltransverse sectionin the line 3-3 of Fig.1; Fig. 4 is a detailedvertical longitudinal section in the line 4-4 of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a topplan of the track cornen; Fig." (i is an elevation of the structureshown 'in Fig. 5 looking in thedirection of the arrow 6 insaid'figure;'=Fig.'7 is a section in the line 77 of Fig.

fig Fig. 8 isa view of the tripping device, the frame therefor being cutaway in vertical section and the remaining parts being shown inelevation; Fig. 9 is a perspective viewshowingthe returning stop, aportion of theframebeingbroken away; and Fig. 10 isa diagrammatic viewshowing the arrangement of the track ina barn. v

Referring to the drawings, I have illustrated in Fig.

l0 a-barn of common forni, having anentrance at the Jcenter of the frontwall and having along the rear wall a series of stalls, the said stallsextending on both sides of the center line'of the barn. This form ofconstruction is quite common and I have illustrated it because I itbrings out quite clearly the various capacities of my improved devicefor 'differentconditions.

It will hereadily understood from the following 'description of myapparatus that when it is used in barns of different sorts, itwillbe-arranged in different ways from that shown, and many casescertain portions track beingsupported at'its opposite ends by'the wallsof the: barn and placed under such tension as to extend in asubstantially horizontal line from 01rg, ;endbr the barn to the other.From the back wall of the barn,

' opposite the door thereof, I run a secon'd track, A, at

right anglesto thetmck, A, said track, A, extending through the door ofthe ba'rn'and'out past a suitable dunipifig point, to a post, a, theouter end of the track,

A, being raised'abovothe rear end thereof, so that the: track has asubstantial incline. At the point where the tracks, A and A, cross eachother, the track, A, runs beneath the track, Affor a purpose which willpresently be apparent.

Referring now to Fig. 1, it will be socn'iihat the carrier proper isprovided with a supporting yoke or frame, B, normally extendinglongitudinally oftho tmckand in line therewith, said yoke or frame beingpreferably composed of outwardly-facing channcl iron. To the uppercorners of the yoke, B, I secure brackets, B,

B each of the brackets having projecting perforated lugs, b, b, throughwhich pass bosses, c, 0, upon hanger frames, C, C respectively; Each ofthe bosses, c and a, is provided with a projection, a", which is adaptedto pass through a notch provided in the corresponding upper lug, b, whenthe hanger frame'is turned into a position which it can never occupy inuse and which yoke, 13, is pivotally secured a trough-shapcd cdntain or,

.D, adapted to hold the material to be iranspm-tcd.

This container is supported below its center 'Of gravity so thatwith'any ordinary load, when the Container is released from the moansprovided for holding it in an upright position, it will immodiatclyswing into an in vcrted position by its own weight, so as to dump itscontents. For the purpose of supporting the coniuincr in its properposition, I pivot between the side flung-cs of the left handdownwardly-projecting member of the yoke, B, a bell crank lover Orcatch, E, (Fig. 4), ihc upwardly-projecting arm of the bell crank loverbeing provided with a pin a, which is adapted to pass. through a'perforation in the yoke and enter a dcprcssion in the .wall of thecont-Inner; The outer end of the bell crank lover or catcl1,-E, isconncctcd pivotally to the lower end of a tri) in rod E assin 11 wordthrou h a theyoke, B, and thence upward through the boss of the Each ofthe hanger names- (J an i'cs a pin," Fflhbi'abltfi through bracketsprovided" to-receive it, and normally sp'ringfprcssed toward the unt-5':rini', so that the distancebctwcen'thc'upper bird of the-pin and thepenny rim is 'not sufficient to permit fhet'rack ta as. By

this means I'mako it impossible for the device to run off the 5 trackattain-many, arid yet, by 'niciely pullin down the pin, by means of ahandle, f, attached therei to, I can separate the pin from the pulley sothat the hangercan be removed from the track without difliculty. It willbe understood that in the use of my device it is desirable that thecarrier proper, as set forth above,

. provided with mechanism for releasing the container and with mechanismfor holding the hangers in place,

i must, in practice pass from one end of the track, A, to

the other end, so as to be used at both series of stalls that it mustalso be capable of moving from the track, A, to the track, A, so as toreach the dumping point, that means must be provided for operating thetripping rod to dump the container at the proper point. De

vices for accomplishing these purposes are provided in my apparatus andI shall now proceed to describe them, having already set forth in detailthe construction oi the carrier proper, with which they cooperate. The

I first of these devices which I shall describe is the means by whichthe carrier is guided fromthc track, A, to the track, A, and the meansby which it is permitted to I pass along the track, A, past the track,A', when desired. This device mayproperly be termed a switchconstruction, although under certain circumstances it i is more properlymerely a corner construction adapted for the passage of the carrier, andit is illustrated in Figs. 5, 6 and 7. In it I provide a curved,quadrant-shaped track, formed of angle iron, witha vertical web and ahorizontal web lying in, a horizontal plane on the outside of the curve,the vertical web being brought at its ends into such a position that itsupper edge is somewhat above the level of the tracks, A and A, and thatit is just inside said two tracks, so that the tracks are practicallytangent to the curve of the quadrant. Two symmetricalswitch castings areprovided at the ends of the quadrant-shaped track, G, each of thecastings comprising a vertical web riveted or otherwisesecured, to theoutside of the vertical web of the quadrantshaped angle iron track, ahorizontal web, it, grooved on its lower face to receivethe-corresponding track, A or A, an inclined bead, 7L running downwardfrom the vertical web and overhanging the adjacent section of track, Aor A, so as to guide thepullcys from th track to the quadrant, and anupwardly slanting ear, i at the end of the horizontal web, It, thepurpose of this car being to engage the pin, F, as will presently bedescribed. Clamps, H, are provided upon the. quadrant-shaped track, G,said clamps being adaptcdto cngage with the tracks, A and A, to hold thetracks in suitable engagement, but to permit them to be readilydisengaged, as will presently be set forth. I

When it is desired to run the carrier from the position ing said pin tothe lower level of the switch casting sothat the pin can run along onthis lower surface, passing underneath the track, A, to the lowersurface of the horizontal web of the angle iron track, where it will rununtil it passes on to the switch casting at the opposite end of thequadrant, upon which surface it will also run, passing under the track,At, andtthc second diagonally-disposed car, it. The pullcyavi-ll thuseventually reach the track, A, and as soon as it does so the pin, F,

willsnap up into place, having passed. under .llro'th tho 1' tracks, soas to again hold the pulley firmly in position. It will be understood ofcourse that this same proceeding takes place with both the pulleys ofthe carrier in succession, as they pass the switch track. 7

When it isdcsired to run the carrier from; one end of the truck, A,.'iothe other, so as to have the carricrpass by the track, A, the---clamp,H, which secures the switch truck to the track, A, is released and theweight of the carrier and its load will depress the toil-11; V track, A,sufficiently to permit the hanger to the track, A, without interferingIf it is desired to arrange the tracli so thatilu fan will make a lefthand insteadofh right haud'turu; in 1 passing from the track, A, to thetrack, Aflg th equad rant-shaped switch track '(-anbo taken out, andrcversed in position, the end which was formerly sccurcd to thetrack,-A, being secured to the traclg A, and vice versa. In orderto'p'crinit thc carrier to operate upon-a track arranged in this manner,it is necessary to turn the hanger frames through an angle of 180degrees in order to bring the pins, If, to the outside surface of thecurve, so that they can engage the diagonally- 1isposr-d ears set forth.1 g H In order to provide for the autom container, I secure to tl1etifack,.A"-, adjacent' iiiftl1c dumping point, a frame, I, yoke-shapedin cross sec ie dirrhpipg oi the tion, the said frame containing apivoted tripping?- block, I, having projections, 2', adapted tdcontuctwith the lower edges of tlic'framc, .l. The tripping Immediately afterthe tripping rod has passed the block, I, the block swings back to theposition shown in SOllGliIlGS in Fig. 8, and, uponthe return of thecarrier, the block swingsup to thc'lel't hand position shown in dottedlines in-Fig. 8, so as not to interfere in any way With'the passage ofthe carrier; This last feature is particularly advantageous because itis common practice, .as I havealrcady set forth, to elevate the end ofthe track, Afat the (lumping point, the purpose of said elevation beingto causo the carrier to returuairtomatically into the barn after'it hasbeen dumped.-

Were the construction of the tripping l'ilock'suclras lto interfere inany way, even to a slight extent, witl the return of the carrier, theautomatic return thereof might be prevented, for in ordinary practicethe carrier on its returning movement will pass the tripping block justafter it has started its motion and when its momcnturn is but very,small.

ln order to start the carrier back inthe proper way.

I secure to that end of the yoke or frame, ll, whiclrwill be forward asthe carrier emerges. from the bar-ma spring, J, which is adapted to passbetween furcations.

7c, of a cam stop, K, pivoted in a yoke-shaped frainc. 'K, slidable uponthe track, A.

It will be seen from of the drawings that the cam stop, K, is so formedthat when the spring, J ,engages said stop between the furc'ationsthereof, it will swing the same about its pivot in the frame, K, and

will bring a track-engaging portion, k -thereof, into engagement withthe track, so as' to lock the frame firmly in position with reference tothe track, and the stronger the force exerted by the spring, the morefirm will be the engagement between the calm stop and the track. Inpractice the manner of operating the carrier is to move it around thecorner to the track, A, and then give it a forcible push, which willcarry it at considerable speed out upon the track, A, causing it to tripautomatically as hereinbefore set forth, and dump its contents.Immediately after the carrier has passed the tripping block, the springwill strike the cam stop, K, and arrest the motion of the carrier, anyremaining momentum possessed by the carrier being stored in the spring,I, and returned to the carrier in the form of force tending to start iton its return journey into the barn, Inasmuch as the track inclinesdownward towards the barn, the carrier will run readily back intoposition, so that the operator neednevcr come out of the barn to dump orreturn the carrier. The frame, I, carrying the tripping block, I, canreadily be moved upon the track longitudinally thereon, and no lockingmeans for this frame is necessary because, I at the time when thetripping block is operative, the pulley of the carrier is resting uponits upper surface so as to make longitudinal movement of the frame uponthe track impossible. A cord or chain, K is provided, by

which the cam stop, K, can be drawn out-of engage ment with the trackand by pulling this cord-downwards and exerting through it longitudinaltension with respect to the track, the cam stop can readily be moved. Bythese two means it is possible to shift the dumping and returning pointswithout any difliculty, so that the carrier can be made to deposit itsload in any desired position along the track, A.

In order to render it possible to fix the position of the track so as tomake movement of the carrier impossible.

I realize that considerable variation is possible in the details ofconstruct-ion without departing from the spirit of my invention, and Ido not intend therefore to limit myself to the specific form hereinshown and described. I

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is i l.'ljhe combination witha trackfa frame and pulleys carried by the frameand running upon thetraek, of a conminer carried by the frame, a springmoupted upon the frame, and a stop mounted upon the track and adapted toengage the spring to arrest movement of the device upon the track andstart it in itsreturn movement, said stop being adjustably mounted uponthe track.

2. The combination with a track, a frame, pulleys carried by the frameand running upon the track, and acoutainer mounted in the frame, of aspring carriedby the frame, a frame mounted upon the track, and acam-stop pivoted in the frame and adapted to be engaged by the spring torotate the cam-stop, said cam-stop being arranged when rotated to bindagainst the track.

3. The combination with a track, a frame, pulleys carried by the frameand running. upon the track, and a con- -talner mounted in the frame, ofa spring carried by the frame, a frame mounted upon .the track, acam-stop pivoted in the frame and adapted to be engaged by the spring torotate the cam-stop, said cam-stop being arranged when rotated to bindagainst the track, and means for manually releasing the camstop from itsengagement with the track.

4. The combipation with two tracks crossing each other, of a frame,pulleys mounted in the frame and running upon one of the tracks, a.container carried by-the frame and a switching device seouredto said twotracks and ar-. ranged to be disengaged from one of them to permit saidtrack to move verticallyfor the passage of the carrier thereon, beneaththe other track. I

The combination with two main tracks at an angle to each other, of aframe, pulleys carried by the'frarne and rupning upon the main tracks. acontainer carried by the frame, an arc-shaped track running from onemain ,track to the other and switch castings connecting the ends of thearcshaped track with said main tracks.

6. The combination with two main tracks at an angle to each other, of aframe, pulleys carried by the frame and running upon the main tracks, acontainer carried by the frame, an arc-shaped track running, from onemain track to the other and switch castings connecting: the ends of thearc-shaped track with said main tracks, said switch castings havingchannels on their lower surfaces to receivesaid main tracks.

7. The combination with a track, a pulley adapted to run upon the track,and a frame Supporting the pulley from one side thereof and extendingbelow the. track, of a movable pin upon the opposite side of the frameand adapted to extend upwards into close proximity with the pulley, soas to.prevcnt the passage of the track between the pulley and the pinwhen the pin is in its advanced position.

8. The combination with two 'mnin tracks, pulleys adapted to run uponthe tracks, a'fralne supporting the pulleys from one side thereof, anda. pin carried by'the frame upon the opposite side thereof, and adjacentto one of the pulleys, said pinbeing movable and so positioned as, whenin its advanced position, to prevent the passage of the track betweenthe pulley and the pin, a switch track connecting said two main tracks,and means whereby said pin is retracted automatically as thecorresponding pulley passes from and to the main tracks.

9. The combination .with two main tracks, pulleys adapted to run uponthe tracks, a frame supporting the pulleys from one side, alongitudinally-movable pin on the opposite de of the frame. andextending upward toward the pulley to present a space between its endand the pulley of less width than the width of the track, whereby thepassage of the track between the pulley and the pin is prevented whenthe pin is in its advanced position, a switch track connecting said maintracks, and a cam surface adapted to depress the pin below thelowerlevel of the track, when the pulley passes from and to the main tracks.

10. The combination with two main tracks, pulleys adapted to run uponthe tracks, a frame supporting the pulleys from one side, a.longitudinally-movable pin on iluopposite side of the frame andextending'upward toward the pulley to presenta space between'its end andthe pul ley of less width than the width of the track, whereby thepassage of the track between the pulley and the pin is pre

